Is An Accident Report On A Carfax A Deal Breaker For You When Buying A

[BimmerJustin]

Found a great car with low mileage but carfax reports an accident with right front damage. Typically it reports if there was frame damage, in this case it does not say, so im assuming it was mostly cosmetic. I would, of course, inspect the car more with this knowledge, but in your opinion would this be a dealbreaker when buying a used model?

[Step Hen]

If it was a one owner car, try and ask the owner for some more details. Of course a closer visual inspection of that area is warranted.

Carfax should never be a deal-maker or deal-breaker. Carfax doesn't list all accidents/damage as it only shows what has been REPORTED. So a car can have a clean carfax and could have been in a severe accident. Just use it as one more tool when used-car shopping. It could have been a minor fender bender.. Check for paint overspray for the extent of the repair and definitely check the seam gaps to make sure they are consistent throughout.

[eatingupblacktop]

As Step says, not everything is covered in a carfax report. Cosmetic repairs are easy to hide by any decent shop. Structural repairs are easier to detect, but you have to know where to look - inside the engine bay, under rocker panels, inside the trunk, under carpets, under the chassis, etc - easy to miss one. My suggestion, if you really like the car, spend a few bucks and take it to a reputable body shop and have them check it out. It's their business - they know what to look for without hesitation - in less than ten minutes they can give you a complete picture. Being forewarned is being forearmed! Good luck.

[Carmelsteve]

When shopping for my LS430, an honest dealer told me that Carfax was actually kind of an inside joke with used dealers. It seems that Carfax is not connected to Meecham car auctions, where the majority of lease auction cars are sold, at least on the West Coast. If the car has unibody damage, it's reported at auction, but only AutoCheck is linked and reports it, not Carfax. This dealer told me that some dishonest dealers actually search out these cars because most people only check Carfax, where the frame damage isn't listed. Sure enough, when I checked many of the cars from Autotrader that had a clean Carfax, the Autocheck showed Unibody damage. The other thing that's cool about Autocheck is that it's unlimited checks for 60 days, as opposed to Carfax which is 10 reports for a similar price.

Steve

[IS 4 EVER]

I would never buy a vehicle if an accident showed up on a car fax report, the accident was obviously significant enough to had been reported.

On the other hand it gives you quite a bit of negotiating power, if you had your heart set on it.

[JENunnez]

What's funny is that Autocheck calls Lexus " Upscale- Near Luxury"

Yea use these things as tools. Get a good mechanic and have him go over the car in conjunction with Carfax and AutoCheck.